


Sa chair et son sang

by Jasminkaa



Category: EXO (Band), Super Junior
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Mob, Gangs, Hitman Kai, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Mafia AU, Mafia Boss Suho, Mafia Boss Xiumin, Mercenary Sehun, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-01-31 11:50:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18590683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jasminkaa/pseuds/Jasminkaa
Summary: Mob Boss Xiumin needs a leverage to prevent his main rival to meddle in his buisness, and end up finding about Suho's un-related to mafia little brother: Jongdae





	1. Prélude

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Sa chair et son sang](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17508491) by [Jasminkaa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jasminkaa/pseuds/Jasminkaa). 



Kim Minseok was lost in his thoughts, sitting at his desk. Facing him, his best man Do Kyungsoo was silent which was usual when his boss was wondering like this. Neither of them was very talkative and that must have been the reason why they could understand each other so well.  
“We have to find one of his weaknesses.” The elder of the two men eventually said.  
Today’s subject was nothing else but Suho, “Seoul’s Guardian”, the most powerful man in town. At the head of a thousand men, Suho was a schemer and confident man, he had known how to adapt himself to the underworld methods since his early childhood, climbing the social ladder till the upper class.  
He was all the more feared that nobody knew a thing about his personal life nor his past. Any piece of information about his personal activities or his life before he joined the mafia was nonexistent. The mystery around his origins was making him almost invulnerable to threats.  
But all of this was possible only thanks to one man: Lay. With even less information about him than about his boss, it was a complicated task to discern what kind of man he was. No one knew his face, which was rather ironic for a man as famous as he was on the field. But he was known for his ability to take out of circulation all kind of things after all. To destroy data and clean crime scenes was his job and he was the best at it. For many, he was the one to bring down. How many time Suho’s men escaped jail because of a lack of evidence thanks to Lay’s work?  
But Minseok was not there to kill Lay. Nor Suho. To start a war now would have brought more harm than profit. He only wanted to make sure the Guardian was minding his own business.  
They had been sharing the town for years, one half each. For Minseok: the slum areas, the bad neighborhoods, where the poor were fighting for a loaf of bread, ready to sell their body to their family, and their family for some drugs. Meanwhile, Suho handled the upper class, where the richest gave thousands to get out of their boredom, to spend a night with the prettiest women, to buy the most expensive drug, the one that made you see different colors from what they had to face in their dull office.  
How long before Suho would get tired of their deal? To find the man’s weakness… More like prevent the sudden potential change of mind that would get him too close to Minseok’s territories, or near Minseok himself. It was a well-known fact that the Guardian of Seoul was not a fan of his rival’s bloody and brutal methods. Not that Suho’s wasn’t violent nor brutal himself, but only when the situation required it. Minseok, on the other hand, would do it for pleasure.  
“Suho tends to take good care of his men. Sure, it’s a quality: it gives him loyal men, but that could also be a weakness. To show his good heart. There must be someone out there he cares deeply for… A mistress, a hidden son, his parents, it doesn’t matter, we need to find who.”  
“Lu Han?” Kyungsoo asked.  
“Lu Han,” Minseok answered.

 

Jongdae loved his brother deeply. Really. Since their parents’ death, he had taken good care of him, made sure he was adopted by a loving family, that he could study what he wanted, and that he was never in needs. They were as close as two brothers thirteen years apart could be.  
But despite all the love he had for his brother, Jongdae hated to have to visit him. Not only did he have to warn him weeks in advance, but he also had to wait for an endless time until Lay would check everything on him: his health, his trail from the campus to the building, making sure he was not followed, and to erase all the footage of his path on the city camera. It was really tiring when all he wanted to do was to take a coffee with his brother.  
He couldn’t remember the last time they had a normal activity together, to hang out in the city, visit a museum, to go to an amusement park… Jongdae was curious about what his brother was doing of his day that required that all his visits were so secretive. But he promised his brother he would never ask about it and simply be happy that they were both healthy.  
And, really, Jongdae was puzzled, but it’s not like he had a voice on the subject.

“Do you watch me too?” He dared to ask once.  
“Jongdae, for the love of God, who do you take me for?”  
The younger just raised an eyebrow.  
“They don’t tell me the things that are too personal if it makes you feel better. They just make sure nothing dangerous happens to you.”  
Jongdae had really tried not to let his anger take over him, but had failed. It had been one of their rare arguments.  
He was glad to know he had some sort of guardian angel watching over him; without saying a word of his Saturday night activities to his big brother, but being followed all the time by some stranger watching his every move made him feel really uncomfortable. Did he have any intimacy left?  
Of course, he had never seen the so said stranger, and that was the only thing helping him on keeping his sanity. Even if he could be particularly paranoiac from time to time. Like when he decided to check there was no camera in the bathroom before he could enter his bath.  
He never told any of this to his best friend and roommate, Byun Baekhyun, who kept on walking all naked in their shared flat, shameless. Maybe it wouldn’t bother him after all Baekhyun wasn’t known for his prudishness. Nor for his ability to keep secrets. Which is why Jongdae never told him about the mystery surrounding his brother’s business. If it was dangerous enough to have someone watching Jongdae 24/7, better not shout from the rooftops that Junmeyon was one of the richest men in town (a thing Baekhyun would one hundred percent do.)

Luhan had been observing Suho for almost two months now: the coming and going of the powerful man and all the individual he interacted with. Among them were, of course, the henchmen of Suho, as well as public figures, and all the kinds of person you could imagine connect with a mob boss.  
Basically, nothing interesting.  
There was a small hope, a few times, whenever he saw beautiful women coming, accompanied by bodyguards. But in the end, they were only escorts, keeping company to the busy man during his lonely nights.  
Those women were so beautiful it amazed Luhan, and he jokingly searched for their price. He soon realized he would never be able to afford them.  
The days were shorter now, and the night colder, but he couldn’t come back to his boss without good enough information.  
But Luck was coming his way.  
It was a Sunday, cold and cloudy like it always was these days, and for the moment he only had seen two persons. An escort exiting the building, and the arrival of some high-ranking man of Suho. Nothing exciting.  
Then he saw the kid. Surrounded by bodyguards, he was wearing large clothes, sunglasses, and a mask, but you could see at his attitude that he wasn’t much older than twenty. He wasn’t acting the same way as the people who would usually visit Suho either. The kid was a lot more nervous, agitated. Plus, aside from Lay, the people who took the time to cover their identity were shady politics and public figure, that Luhan would easily recognize despite their masks, thanks to his photographic memory and his large knowledge of celebrity gossips. There was a reason Luhan was considered as the best in his field.  
He smiled.  
Jackpot.  
Was the kid a brother, a son or a distant family member, it didn’t matter, it was a lead. Everything after that was really smooth. All he had to do to know where the kid came from was to look for all the erased footage of the city camera. Then finding Jongdae on the campus was not really hard. The poor boy had no idea of the things happening around him, like the red-haired guy always following him around.  
To obtain the student’s name was no difficulty at all.

With the music, the bass vibration, and the alcohol in his blood, Jongdae didn’t care anymore about what was happening around him. He danced with a girl for a while, then he drank, lost the girl, and now he was glued to Baekhyun, dancing sinfully, laughing at something that didn’t even make sense. They were feeling good. Tomorrow, they were going to be hangover and regret all of it, but tomorrow was in a long time.  
Baekhyun is trying to say something, but Jongdae can’t hear him, his voice lost in the noise around them. His best friend laughs, then makes him turn around. Jongdae looks around, trying to find what’s he’s supposed to see. He can’t concentrate, there is too much information. He’s in no state of thinking, and now that he’s motionless, the world is swaying around him.  
Then he spots him. In a corner, half hidden in the shadow, his eyes are locked on him, and he swears he had never felt something so intense. The man is looking right at him, and Jongdae is sure about it because at the exact moment their gazes meet the man smile.  
Jongdae has goosebumps.

Xiumin came to observe the kid. Despite Luhan’s detailed report, he wanted to see by himself and find the best way to approach him. He had to be discreet -he wasn’t exactly unfamiliar in this place- and stay away from Suho’s minion.  
The kid looked right into his eyes, compelled by his friend. That’s when the idea came to him. He smirked. He was going to have fun. A lot of fun.  
There was no need to stay any longer. He couldn’t take the risk to be seen by Suho’s little dog, the one with the red hair. And… He was pretty sure he had seen a particular someone… But, that wasn’t possible, wasn’t it? He was supposed to have disappeared a long time ago…  
He would check on that later. He left the club, not without passing by the bar. He had a plan to set up.

When Jongdae looks again, no one is there. He’s slightly disappointed stranger’s sudden disappearance, but with the party still going and the alcohol in him, he quickly forgets about it.

 

A few hours later, the alcohol level had come down, Baekhyun had found a stranger to make out with, and Jongdae’s legs were beginning to hurt by dint of dancing too much.  
Chanyeol proposes to drive them back home, as he often does. Despite his grunge style and his red hair, Chanyeol is a generous, gentle boy. In every party where Baekhyun and Jongdae end up unable to hold still, almost throwing up, Chanyeol is there, still sober, taking care of them, accompanying them home, and keeping away the weirdos. Chanyeol is a perfect mate and Jongdae doesn’t know what he’s done in another life to deserve someone like him.  
“Where is Baekhyun?” asks Chanyeol.  
One look in the club and Jongdae spots his best friend glued to his prey for the night. He can’t see what the man looks like, hidden by Baekhyun.  
“Maybe we should just leave him there,” Jongdae suggests in a mocking tone, “he seems to have fun.”  
Judging by his angry look, Chanyeol disagrees. He doesn’t like the idea of leaving Baekhyun in someone’s hands. Who knows what kind of freak could hang in a place like this one. He had been eyeing some dealers in the room, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t the worse thing he could come across.  
He moves towards Baekhyun and pats his shoulder to let his presence known. His jaws clench when he sees the younger’s clothes untidy and his reddened lips.  
“Time to go, Baekhyun.”  
Baekhyun pouts but steps aside -reluctantly- from the other guy, and that’s when Chanyeol decides to take a look at the stranger. Who is not that much of a stranger in fact. Chanyeol freezes, taken by surprise.  
“Park Chanyeol, fancy meeting you here…”  
Said Chanyeol doesn’t even take the time to answer, pushing his two younger friends toward the exit. He drives them to their shared flat, and only when he’s sure that they’re both safe inside the building that he finally takes out his phone.

 

Suho had planned a calm evening, thankful to have one of his rare nights of freedom, without anyone disturbing him, he could enjoy this little time for himself. Taking a bath, watching some TV shows, anything that could take away his daily stress. He didn’t usually allow himself that much rest and that’s why he hesitates when he hears his phone ringing.  
He ignores it until he realizes that the tone is the one used by Chanyeol’s calls.  
He picks up the phone instantly.  
Chanyeol is not the kind of guy to call for no reason. If anything happened to Suho’s brother…  
“Boss?” Chanyeol’s voice is tainted with worry, but still remotely calm, which slightly eases Junmyeon. If Jongdae was in a dangerous situation, Chanyeol wouldn’t be that quiet.  
“Chanyeol, how can I help you?  
-It’s Oh Sehun, boss. He’s back in town.”

It was still dark at this time of the night and the streets in this part of the town were deserted, except for some half-asleep tramps and junkies. It was not a problem for Sehun who learned to love the city that way. After all, he did spend his whole childhood there, wandering around in search of money, or running away from all kind of assailants. He did a good job of holding up, thinking about it. He became neither a drug addict nor a prostitute, and despite some scars, his body was still in one piece.  
It was in those same streets that he had proved himself back then.  
He let out a fleeting laugh. He has a semblance of nostalgy for the worst part of his life and for the world, he was yet so adamant to leave. Flying away was the best decision he had ever taken… But coming back…?  
Well, it was just for one job, and he probably would know whether it was a good or a bad idea only when it would be done.  
At the moment, he enjoyed the calm. The rumors of his return were going to spread fast, especially after his -really short- encounter with Park Chanyeol, Suho’s doggy. But Sehun doesn’t really care, he enjoys his popularity, it makes everything so much easier.  
Back in time, he had consecutively been a newbie, a promising rookie and finally a threat. But time had passed and there is no longer any good reason for Suho nor Xiumin to try to kill him. They would keep an eye on him, obviously, but no harm would be done. For the moment at least.  
That’s the reason he can wander in the deserted streets of Seoul without a fear. The rare people who can outweigh him can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and they have no reason to attack him for now.  
Speaking of the devil.  
“D.O. to what do I owe the honor of your presence here?”  
Do Kyungsoo, against a wall, cigarette in mouth. Despite his small stature, his intense presence made him hard to ignore. He was wearing a simple black outfit and a leather jacket, but there was no denying the fact that he was probably carrying a dozen of hidden weapons.  
“The boss wanted a confirmation that you’re back.”  
Rumors spread fast, Sehun was hoping to benefit from the quietness a little bit more, but he could adapt.  
Kyungsoo, on the other hand, is clearly not happy to be here. His tone is cold, his face annoyed, but Xiumin’s orders are not to be contested.  
“And he sends me his best man! What an honor!”  
Sehun has a sly smile. It’s pleasant to see how important he became so that the best committee is here to greet him.  
D.O moves away from the wall he was leaning on, takes a few steps toward Sehun. In spite of his short size, Kyungsoo outshines him.  
“Take this as a warning Sehun. One mistake, and I’ll be back, and you will not like it. At all.” He blows his smoke in the younger face, crushes his cigarette on the ground, then turns back, without a single glance for Sehun. He is not worried about being attacked at all.  
“We underestimated you in the past, we will not make the same mistake twice.”  
He adds before disappearing in the shadow of the street.

The news of Oh Sehun‘s return spreads like wildfire. In the morning, every person in the underworld knows about it and they all have the same thing in mind: what kind of sordid business could bring back in town the first public enemy of the two most dangerous men in the city? Especially years after he left?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading ~  
> don't hesitate to leave kudos and post comments  
> twitter & cc: @jasminkaau  
> 


	2. Dans la gueule du loup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks @nopesther, my best friend who translated everything and who always support me <3
> 
> Title explanation: "[se jeter dans] la gueule du loup" , litteraly translated "Throwing oneself in the muzzle of the wolf" mean exposing yourself imprudently to a danger. It's the french version of "to put one's head in the lion's den/mouth"

The sound of police cars’ siren kept ringing in Suho’s ears. He wasn’t used to going in the field personally anymore, and he wasn’t exactly glad to be there but that were some exceptional circumstances: for a change, he wasn’t there as the executioner but as the victim. Sort of.  
Someone was after his girls, someone who attacked them, and Suho was not the kind of man to let these things happen without doing anything. According to him, being a leader was to take care of the people under your wing before anything else. The prostitutes were the most vulnerable and it wasn’t unusual to have girls beaten up by abusive clients. Sometimes they would even be found dead - and Suho always made sure to find the abusers to let them know about his way of thinking.  
Since his ascent to power, he had set up plenty of things to protect them better, improving the defenses, hiring new guards. Unfortunately, it wasn’t always effective, and today was sadly proving it.  
He had talked with the detectives - those who were on his side - but they didn’t know much about what had happened. Junmyeon mentally cursed at their lack of efficacy. It was the third girl disappearing in less than two weeks already, they couldn’t not have any information about it.  
Lay was by his side and even though it was night, he was wearing a mask that had his face covered entirely. He was observing the room -the last place the girl had been seen in- more carefully than the policemen themselves. Lay had some peculiar experience with disappearances, after all, he was a specialist in the subject.  
After what seemed like hours to Junmyeon, and it probably was as dawn was coming up in the horizon, Lay finally gestured that he was done with the examination of the room. They both head up to the car which is waiting for Suho, ready to go back to the headquarters. The boss is tired and he only wishes for a shower and a good sleep, but he has to wait a little bit more.  
“One single person,” Yixing says when they get in the car. “Someone well prepared.” Junmyeon is looking at the streets behind the car window, but he’s not looking actually, he’s thinking.  
“Can we find out to who it’s related to?”  
“Not at the moment, no. Maybe I’ll find something with the cameras’ footages. We will at least see if the guy has allies or is by himself.”  
Suho sighs. “Sehun’s return, and now this…”  
Suho makes a face and Yixing knows he just got an idea.  
“You think that…”  
“That the two things are connected somehow? Not impossible. But it’s too soon to be sure about it. Chanyeol will keep an eye on him anyway.”  
“Chanyeol? And what about Chen? You leave him unsupervised? ”  
Junmyeon turns back to the car window, he is tense. The situation escapes him and he doesn’t like it. At all.  
“They already ran into each other once, and Chanyeol was there. I’m afraid it’ll be too dangerous to let them together, I can’t risk it, so Chanyeol will stay away from my brother for a few days, just to give us the time to reckon the situation. It hurts to say it but Chen is not my priority at the moment.”  
For the past twenty-two years, nothing had ever happened to his younger brother, so a few days without Chanyeol were not going to hurt him. Suho just needed someone he trusted enough to watch over him in the meantime.

 

It’s the smell of bacon and pancakes that wakes Jongdae up, but it’s the piercing sound of Baekhyun’s voice that forces him out of bed. He would have enjoyed a few more minutes under the warm bed sheets with a mouthwatering smell of food to prevent him from falling back asleep.  
Instead, he gets out of bed, puts some T-shirt found on the floor on, and goes to the kitchen to see why his roommate is so noisy in the morning.  
He’s not surprised to see Heechul, an older man that Baekhyun met during his first year, and whom he had befriended quickly. Baekhyun had lived alone for one year before Jongdae entered uni and they could share an apartment and during this time Baekhyun had taken the habit to let people come to his place at various hours of day and night. He had kept this habit even after they had moved in together and if Jongdae was annoyed at first, he had quickly realized that there were some benefits in it.  
Firstly, it would make Jongdae see other people than just Baekhyun because even though they loved each other, with their respective personalities, fights were going strong when there was only the two of them for too long. The second thing was about cooking. Both of them barely knew how to heat some already prepared dish when there wasn’t anyone to cook them something good. So Baekhyun and his love for older men -more experienced, more money, and good food- why would Jongdae refuse such privilege?  
Kim Heechul was a bit different since Baekhyun said that they had never slept together and that it would never happen. Jongdae wasn’t sure about this but had never tried to know more about it. If Baekhyun didn’t want to share this secret, it was his choice. And Jongdae could understand: Heechul was a teacher at uni and even if he wasn’t Baekhyun’s actual teacher, their relationship could have harmed them.  
“Hey Heechul,” Jongdae greets, and then turns to his best friend, “Why are you so noisy today?”  
The older one is the one answering: “Chanyeol,” and it’s more explicit than what it sounds like.  
“We shouldn’t invite him to go out with us anymore,” Baekhyun says.  
“I thought you liked him.”  
The words make Baekhyun blush a little.  
“Precisely. He turned me down. And yet he’s still here and acts like a protective older brother. Alright, he doesn’t want to sleep with me, I get it, but he has no right to stop me from looking elsewhere.”

 

They didn’t really have any plan to avoid Chanyeol, they just decided to go to a nightclub they weren’t used to go, a little more far from the campus. Heechul had recommended them the place and he was actually going with them this time. The nightclub was for an older audience than where they used to go but it, however, was really convenient: less chance to run into Chanyeol, and it was exactly the age bracket Baekhyun was aiming at.  
Jongdae didn’t really care about this, he just wanted to go out and have fun to forget his week, even though Baekhyun would try to convince him that he was going to find someone tonight.  
“I have a feeling,” he had repeated probably one hundred times while they were getting ready. Jongdae had just put on black slinky jeans and a white t-shirt, nothing exuberant, with just what was needed of perfume and hair polish.  
Meanwhile, Baekhyun had dyed his hair, going for ash-grey hair, had polished his complexion a way that always let Jongdae amazed, and had decided that it was a good night to go for a smokey eye that suited him perfectly. And that was without mentioning his black slinky short and his too large shirt that was half-falling from his shoulders.  
Heechul picked them up not long after and the way to the nightclub went in a joyous and relaxed atmosphere. Baekhyun and Jongdae were probably considered too young to meet the club’s standards, but hopefully, Heechul knew the bouncer (he looked like he knew a lot of people actually as he greeted many people in the crowded place including the bartender).  
Once inside, they split up, the young professor on one side and the two students on the other. Usually, they would start by going to the bar, but tonight they had drunk already, expecting the alcohol to be more expensive than where they were usually going, and Baekhyun hoped to lure people good enough to pay the drinks.

 

Chanyeol had a bad feeling about this. Suho had ordered him to stop watching over Jongdae to focus on Sehun for a while instead. Chanyeol understood the order: Suho couldn’t have Sehun know about how important Jongdae was for the mafia boss, but that didn’t mean Chanyeol agreed to it. He didn’t like to be left unknown from what his two friends were doing during his absence. He knew that Baekhyun could act really recklessly sometimes and he didn’t know how his substitute would react to this.  
At least Jongdae was rational, but he was one to be influenced sometimes. Chanyeol had grown unintendedly fond of the two young men and he didn’t like the idea of them being without any surveillance in the dangerous streets of Seoul.  
At least, by keeping an eye on Sehun he was protecting them from one threat among others. If he had to cross Xiumin’s territory, Chanyeol had the advantage to be an unknown face for most of Suho’s enemies, and that was why the man had hired him, in some particular context, as Jongdae’s bodyguard.  
Of course, he was not going to go right into Xiumin’s headquarters, but if Sehun did, Chanyeol would have fewer questions about his intentions, and a lot of fear for the future.  
But at the moment, those were only conjectures, and Sehun was going around Seoul’s streets as if he were only a tourist. He had spent the afternoon shopping and stayed numerous hours in the same restaurant, most of the time on his phone. Chanyeol had sent the information about this restaurant to Lay if it happened to be a lead to anything, but Lay had answered that there was nothing interesting about it or its employees. Knowing Lay, he was probably going to put the restaurant under careful watch for a few days and was already doing detailed research on every single person that had ever been to the place.  
This was a waste of time and energy for Chanyeol given that he was actually there and could tell that nothing was going to happen by himself, but Lay was his superior and he couldn’t go against his orders.  
The next message he received was more surprising:  
“Luhan says hi.”  
If not seen by Sehun, he had been spotted by Luhan, which wasn’t exactly better. Chanyeol was amazed by how discreet Luhan could be on a mission yet still known by everyone. He asked himself if Luhan knew him before today or if he had just seen him while following Sehun and had decided to let him know that he wasn’t the only one on it.  
And why he would let his presence known to Chanyeol was another question. Maybe he had just been spotted by Lay’s cameras and Chanyeol was just letting himself get worked up about it. He wasn’t supposed to think, he just had to follow orders and, right now, it meant following Sehun, who just happened to move at last.

 

The music was a little bit different from what they were used to, call that a generational gap, but nothing that could prevent them from enjoying themselves. Baekhyun had pulled Jongdae to the catwalk and they were dancing with the same fervor as every Saturday. They hadn’t drunk yet, but given their strategic spot, it wasn’t going to be long before someone would pay them a drink.  
From where he was standing, Baekhyun saw everyone, and everyone could see him: he loved this feeling, to be in the center of attention.  
Jongdae didn’t care about people’s eyes on him, he was young and free and he loved to dance, either it was in the middle of a nightclub with people around him or alone in his room with his headphones on. The only thing he was worried about was if he were to end the night by himself: he knew his best friend and was sure that he was going to find someone to spend the night with and without Chanyeol, nor the friends Jongdae knew he could meet in the club he was usually going to, he was afraid to end up alone. Or worst: meet some undesirable individual. There always was Chanyeol’s voice, and his brother’s one, in his head with their warnings.  
They were going to turn him paranoid.  
He had to think about something else. Maybe he could make the most of it and hit on some people as well. It wasn’t really his type, but it didn’t hurt to be like this from time to time. Anyway, Baekhyun was with him for now, so Jongdae didn’t have to worry too much about it.  
“I spotted the perfect guy.”  
Ah. Jongdae had spoken too soon. Baekhyun had a mischievous smile and his eyes focused on someone.  
Jongdae looked the same way: there was a man, white shirt and blazer, leaning on the bar counter, and who watching them carefully. He was precisely Baekhyun’s type, who immediately leaves the catwalk to reach the bar and the stranger. Jongdae winks at him for support before his friend disappears in the crowd.

 

Baekhyun is wearing his most beautiful smile when approaches the stranger, who stares at him shamelessly. Baekhyun is not used to this kind of behavior and he asks himself if it’s a good or a bad thing. But the man is smiling kindly so he supposes that it isn’t negative, just weird.  
“I’m Baekhyun,” Baekhyun says directly because he is thirsty and he knows that people usually like his insolence. He shows that he knows what he wants.  
“Baekhyun…” The man says, testing the name on his tongue, but he doesn’t seem to be willing to give its own name in return and it annoys Baekhyun a little bit. “You look like a sweet guy, but I’m pretty sure you don’t have the means.”  
And… what? What does this even mean? What kind of turnaround is that? Baekhyun has never paid a drink for anyone, except maybe for his closest friend, and he doesn’t plan on starting tonight. What a disappointment. But Baekhyun hasn’t said his last word. He comes closer to the man, seductively, and runs his fingers on the stranger’s chest.  
“You’re hot, I’m cute, I’m sure we can find someone else to pay for our drinks.”  
Baekhyun doesn’t expect the laugh that the man gives him as an answer. A sincere laugh who gives the stranger a more juvenile look. He is almost welling up. Their gaze meet and Baekhyun is surprised by the gentleness of his eyes.  
“Thanks for the laugh, my name is Donghae.”  
Nothing goes as Baekhyun had planned it but at least now he has a name and it’s a good start.  
“You’re not like what I thought,” The conversation seems really entertaining for Donghae keeps looking at Baekhyun as if he were some kind of puppy.  
“People who come to see me don’t usually think of anything. With some money, I can be whatever they want,”  
The younger’s eyes widen and his mouth falls open. He finally understands what Donghae implied from the beginning, and he feels really, really stupid.  
“You prostit-” The man’s hand is on his mouth before he can finish his sentence. Donghae puts his forefinger on his lips, telling him to keep quiet.  
“Let’s keep this between us. We never know where the police hide.”  
Baekhyun’s brain pauses for a couple of seconds. The circumstances are so unexpected, he doesn’t really know what to do nor what to say. When he snaps out of it he is mostly curious and he ends up asking a myriad of questions to Donghae who answers them with more or less reluctance: questions about how it works, what he does, his schedules and, really, Donghae is not supposed to talk about this so he answers vaguely. He is surprised by the young man’s interest in this.  
“And are you sure you don’t want to sleep with me? Outside your job schedules.” Baekhyun tries one more time, but it’s a fail, again.  
“My boyfriend would not be really happy about it. He’s kinda jealous.”  
Baekhyun wonders how a jealous boyfriend can let his man prostitute himself but doesn’t really look further: maybe they need money, and he doesn’t want to offend the man who has been rather nice with him despite the circumstances - he could have just rejected him to find proper clients. But Baekhyun pouts anyway because he still hasn’t found anyone to buy him drinks.  
“Don’t you have anyone to introduce me to, maybe?” He tries eventually, and when he sees Donghae’s smile, he knows it was the right thing to ask.  
He finds himself with an arm around his shoulders and the prostitute drags him to where he will find people of his taste.  
Except that in the crowd, there is a mane of blue hair which stands out, and under it, a face that seems angrier and angrier as it comes closer. When the man reaches them, Baekhyun recognizes him, he sees him sometimes in some parties, he can be seen from far away with his colored hair, though he usually looks nicer, and he always has with him some candies and powder to make everybody happy. He gives Baekhyun a tense smile. “I need to talk to him, do you mind giving us a minute?” He says before catching hold onto Donghae’s wrist to pull him behind and leave.  
And so Baekhyun is alone again.

Xiumin was in the back room, a private space where he could chill with his best men. Strictly speaking, it never was a real moment of relaxation since there was always an army of useless people to bother him during those moments to ask him some favors. Plus, the risk for complicated situations was always increased when alcohol and sex were involved. But Xiumin, as he was in this world since his early childhood, was not afraid of these little daily risks. However, he was far more worried about recent events. Sehun’s come back in town and the disappearance of Suho’s prostitutes, a few weeks apart, were incidents too important to be ignored.  
In a way or another, the events were linked, it was a fact and it would have been stupid to think otherwise. However, to find what linked them was going to be more difficult.  
He could simply kill Sehun. He could put a bounty on his head and not worry about it anymore, after all, the man had already lived long enough. Xiumin could have been interested in who was behind the whole thing, but as long as no one had claimed Sehun under their protection, his death would not be seen as war declaration, it was part of the rules of the game.  
The only reason why he and Suho would not kill Sehun right away was curiosity, that was all because Sehun wouldn’t have come back without a good reason and a plan to go with. But who knew what he really wanted: power? He wasn’t of this sort. Freedom? He had gained it by leaving years angrier before when he had succeeded in fleeing without being killed. It had been a stroke of luck, really, and if it wasn’t for Kai, Sehun would be lost in the see, a bullet between in his eyes.

Kai was another problem. Him, Xiumin was going to have his head. Or maybe he’ll leave him to Kyungsoo, it was him after all that had been the most upset by the treason. But as long as he didn’t show up, Xiumin had other things to do than running after him. In the end, Kai had never interfered in his business, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. It was just, you know, a matter of pride from the man seen as the most dangerous of town.

But again, it wasn’t a problem as long as Kai wasn’t in town. Xiumin had a more important thing to deal with. But not urgent enough to spoil his evening. He drinks down his whiskey in one go and finally pays attention to the people around him. His best men, the ones that had proved their worth to him. Xiumin had known how to use fear to make them loyal, but he also knew how to behave more humanely and spend some good time with them. With them, Xiumin was safe.  
And he always had Kyungsoo, hidden and withdrawn, who observed all the comings and goings of everyone. He had never been a partier, for him a good night was something like watching a good movie by himself, at home, while cleaning up his weapons.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Leeteuk entering the room, a cunning man whom Xiumin was wary of in the past, but a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and now there is trust and respect between the two. Xiumin pays attention to him only when he notices that Leeteuk comes for him specifically. Leeteuk’s smile and his orange hair had gained him the nickname of “fox” around the group, not a really good thing when one knows about the animal’s reputation, and the way Xiumin deals with traitors. Sometimes Leeteuk’s smile gives Xiumin the urge to take a knife and fix his expression in place.  
But he is a civilized man so he lets Leeteuk take a seat next to him.  
“I’ve got a funny story to tell you,” he says. Xiumin rolls his eyes. “If it’s about Heechul again, you know I’m not a fan.”  
Leeteuk lets out a laugh which sounds fake. “You’ll like this one, I promise.”  
Xiumin nods. He looks bored, but the truth is he likes Leeteuk’s stories, the man never tells uninteresting things, even though the ones about Heechul are sometimes obscene. Anyway, the rest of his guests were not paying him attention and Xiumin was starting to get bored.  
“So Heechul came to see me earlier tonight,” That wasn’t a surprise for anyone, really, they were probably together before Leeteuk entered the back room for that mattered, “Anyway,” the fox says, “you probably knew and it’s not the interesting part of my story. What is interesting, however, is who he was with. Two lovely boys clearly not old enough but still adults, and they were with Heechul so they hadn’t had any problem to get in.” Xiumin is ready to cut him off but Leeteuk waves him to be patient. “I wouldn’t tell you this if it wasn’t worth it, boss.” He keeps him in suspense and his smile really irritates Xiumin, “So, those two boys, the first one was useless, to you at least, but the other one…” and he takes his phone out of his pocket, phone with some pictures he took earlier tonight. They are all taken from the same point of view, most of them are blurry, but who is Xiumin to judge his men’s talent in photography, they are not here to make art. The young man on the pictures, however, is clearly recognizable. It’s no more, no less than Kim Jongdae, whom Xiumin has lengthily studied on the pictures taken by Luhan.  
Xiumin smiles. This is why he keeps Leeteuk with him.  
In one second he has left the room, heading for the main room, where a lost sheep doesn’t know what’s coming.

The music is deafening for Xiumin who is not used to to be in the main room. The back room is always quieter because it’s necessary to be heard; here it’s not the case. But he won’t need to talk for what he has planned to do, not much anyway. He has studied the boy, or rather Luhan did it for him. He knows how to get closer to him. And there had been their exchange of glances the week before and that was the confirmation Xiumin needed to set his plan up. The crowd is dense around him and it takes him some time to find the boy and reach him. Some people recognize him and stop him to talk but there are not so many, firstly because he likes to remain anonymous, secondly because those who know him also know that it’s better not to stand out.

Jongdae is alone for a moment now but he likes the music so he doesn’t care and dances as if he were alone and tomorrow doesn’t exist. He's getting less annoyed than he thought he would be. He doesn’t even need alcohol to be intoxicated. He doesn’t know if he could have got some anyway: Baekhyun had come back clearly disappointed by his encounter and had promised to tell him about it later before going back to look after another patron.  
Jongdae is so in his own world that he doesn’t notice the motions around him immediately. And then he is facing a man. Two piercing eyes dived into his. Jongdae recognizes this look, and the face that goes with it, even prettier now that it’s not half-hidden by the shadows. Except that this time he is closer, way much closer. Jongdae holds his breath for a second and his eyes fixed on the stranger’s lips, and the predatory grin they form.  
Jongdae swallows.  
The stranger opens his mouth to speak and Jongdae can’t hear him well with the music - they are standing next to the sound system, not the best place to have a conversation, but Jongdae had not planned to have one when he had come here in the first place. However, he doesn’t need to hear anything to understand what is going on when he finds himself with a hand on his hip and the stranger getting even closer to him. Jongdae lets him, somehow mesmerized. It feels normal to let himself go against the man and to dance with him as if it were his place. They quickly find a pace and they dance for a long time.  
The crowd’s motions around them push them against each other but it’s clearly just an excuse. Soon Jongdae finds himself squeezed against the stranger, he can feel his body rolling against his and brawny arms around his waist. They are almost the same size, so when he looks up to him, their eyes lock. The man’s gaze is penetrating, he can feel it within his soul. Unable to hold his gaze up longer, he looks down, to see full rosy lips. He lets his eyes linger on the tongue that appears between the lips to wet them.  
Jongdae swallows and turns his head. Which is not the best idea since now he feels the stranger’s hot breath against his ear. Soon there are some fingers caressing his face.  
The breath against his ear comes closer. “Minseok,” says the stranger, and Jongdae feels something wet and hot against his neck. He holds back a moan, his trousers feel tighter than a few minutes before.  
“Jongdae,” he ends saying, and Minseok gently catches his face to turn him to him, “Nice name,” he says, and his smile feels like he already knew that. But it can’t be, can it?. Jongdae doesn’t have the time to think about it further, because the next thing he knows, the lips he had observed just before are on his, and he loses himself in a passionate kiss.

Then everything happens very quickly. Jongdae doesn’t even remember the walk he did before finding himself pressed against the door of an unknown flat. His legs are around Minseok’s hips, and he keeps calling his name while his neck, his thighs, his body are covered by some skilled hands and mouth.

Jongdae’s mind goes blank for the rest of the night.

 

Eunhyuk makes sure that no one is there when he shoves Donghae against the wall.  
“What the fuck were you doing?”  
“My job.”  
Frustration clearly shows in Eunhyuk’s every move. He inhales sharply and tries to calm down.  
“It’s just a kid, Donghae.”  
“I was younger than him.” He wants to look confident but Eunhyuk is not fooled.  
“Do you really want what happened to you to happen to him?” Donghae doesn’t need to answer, they both know the answer. “Don’t let yourself be fooled by these guys Donghae, you’re better than this.”  
And this, this irritates Donghae. He knows better than his boyfriend what is really going on. He knows the risks between each of his actions. Eunhyuk is new in this, he doesn’t know this world, he has barely touched it.  
“I know what I’m doing Eunhyuk, and I’m doing it for us.” And then he gets off of his boyfriend’s grip and goes back to the main room. He has a long night ahead, he’ll have to do more to offset the time he lost by talking to Baekhyun and then Eunhyuk.  
Eunhyuk watches him as he leaves, bitter. He promises himself, as always, that one day he’ll save Donghae.

 

Chanyeol didn’t exactly know what to expect from Sehun’s destination. A hideout, maybe, or a meeting in some obscure place. There were plenty of possibilities but he hadn’t thought about it because he didn’t care and that making conjectures could ruin his job if they happened to be wrong. Anyway, he didn’t expect him to go to the airport.  
Of course, the first thing he does is to contact Lay even though the man had probably already followed them in a way or another - Lay had information about each one of them and Chanyeol didn’t care how he got them as long as it didn’t harm him. However, remaining invisible in the airport was harder than in Seoul’s streets.  
Luhan was nowhere to be seen, but Luhan was a camouflage expert whereas himself… Well, let’s say simply that it wasn’t exactly his thing. He receives a list from Lay: it’s all the flights that could be linked to Sehun’s presence here in a way or another. He also sends him a list of people but given the circumstances, Chanyeol won’t be able to check on it directly so he just tries to keep the names in mind to see if Sehun actually meet one or another.

 

Sehun knows he is being followed. By Luhan, of course, it has to be Luhan, Xiumin would not have sent anyone else after what happened last time. The other one was uncertain, it could have been Key or Joy, with Lay in their ears, always, because Lay liked to have an eye on everything. He used to say that it was impossible to erase something if one didn’t know where to find it. Or maybe Suho had sent Chanyeol since they had run into each other last time.  
But it didn’t really matter. Who cared who was reporting his every action to the two most powerful men of Seoul, in the end, it wouldn’t change a thing. The only thing that mattered was that he wasn’t going to be alone to confront them.  
He looks at the crowd that comes out of the airport terminal. They come from Paris. It’s been a while since he last went to Paris, but the person he is waiting for had something to get before coming to see him.  
He easily spots his friend in the crowd, he’s got a presence that the others don’t have, he walks with assertiveness and yet he is in his own world, earphones on.  
When he sees Sehun, he takes off the earphones, sighs, and moves toward him. Sehun is smiling from ear to ear.  
“How was the flight,?” he asks.  
“I would have preferred another destination,” answers the newcomer.  
Sehun laughs, puts an arm around his shoulders and takes him with him: they’ll take a cab to go to the pad Sehun has bought for them.  
“I’m glad to have you with me, Jongin.”

Chanyeol doesn’t react immediately, because he doesn't know who is the stranger: he was too young back then and he had never been the kind to keep himself informed of what was going on anyway, he just follows orders.  
It’s Lay’s reaction that worries him, he tells him to keep following them until new orders come, which Chanyeol had planned to do anyway.  
But the worst, what makes him realize the seriousness of the situation, is to see Luhan. He has his phone in hand and he doesn’t look quite happy to give this call.

“What do you mean I can’t talk to Xiumin? It’s important, Kyungsoo… No, I can’t tell you… Alright, okay, but promise me that you won’t do anything stupid… It’s Kai. He’s back in town.”

Oh, Chanyeol thinks, Kai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this chapter, and the new characters introduced!  
> What did you all thinks about it??  
> Kudos and comments are always nice <3
> 
> twitter/cc: @jamsinkaau


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